Yeah. Okay, do not tell anyone else this next part, not even Darius. Do you swear?
Yeah, yeah, whatever. Cross my heart and hope to
Just saying you wont tell is good enough for me, I said, not wanting to hear anything about hoping to die come out of her mouth.
I wont tell. So, what is it?
Were not going back to the depot tunnels when we leave here. Were going to the Benedictine Abbey.
Her gaze on me was sharp and way more intelligent than most people gave her credit for being. Do you really think thats a good idea?
I trust Sister Mary Angela, and I have a bad feeling about the tunnels.
Ah, shit. I hate it when you say that.
Hell, I dont like it either! But I sensed a darkness down there that Ive been seeing too much of.
Neferet, Aphrodite whispered.
Im afraid so. I spoke slowly, thinking aloud. And Im thinking that the influence of the nuns might repel her. Plus, Sister Mary Angela told me that there was a place of power there at the abbey, something that made my control over the elements not so surprising to her. I think she called it Marys Grotto. As I spoke I felt that sureness within that told me Nyx was pleased with the choices I was making. Maybe we can somehow use the power there, like weve used the power over by the east wall before. At the very least it might help me keep us cloaked.
Marys Grotto? Sounds like something that should be in the ocean and not in Tulsa. Look, just keep in mind that the place of power by the east wall has been misused about as much as its been tapped into for good, she said. And what about Stevie Rae and her freaks? Not to mention your boyfriends?
Theyll be there. Or at least I hope they will. The Raven Mockers have been watching around depot.
Well, I can tell you from being around her for those two days that she is majorly resourceful, and some of those resources are not so nice. She paused and kinda squirmed uncomfortably.
What is it? I prompted.
Look, if I tell you, I want you to promise to believe me.
Fine. I promise. Now what is it?
Well, talking about your bumpkin BFF and her bag of tricks kinda reminded me of something. Something I found out after she and I, well, you know.
Imprinted? I said, trying (unsuccessfully) not to smile.
Its not funny, smart-ass, she snapped. Its annoying. Anyway, remember when you were talking to Stevie Rae about the extent of the tunnels and whatnot?
I thought back. Yeah, I remember. Then my stomach clenched as I replayed the scene in my mind and I really did remember how Stevie Rae had looked all uncomfortable when I asked her about other red fledglings, and I braced myself to hear what Aphrodite had to say.
She lied to you.
I had a feeling Aphrodite had been going to say that, but knowing didnt make hearing it any easier. Exactly what did she lie about?
So you believe me?
I sighed. Sadly, yes. Youre Imprinted with her. That means youre close to her in a way no one else is. My Imprint with Heath has taught me that.
Okay, look. I do not want to do the nasty with Stevie Rae.
I rolled my eyes. I didnt mean that, you dork. There are different kinds of Imprints. My bond with Heath is very physical, but Ive been attracted to him for years. Uh, can I assume Im right when I say youve never been attracted to Stevie Rae?
Hell yes, you can assume that, Aphrodite said dryly.
Both of you have psychic abilities. Its only logical that your bond would be mental, not physical, I said.
Yeah, good. Im glad you get that. And thats how I know she was lying to you when she said the red fledglings she introduced us to are the only ones there are. There are more. She knows it, and shes in touch with them.
And youre absolutely sure of this?
Totally and absolutely, she said.
Well, I cant worry about that right now, but that could definitely explain some of the darkness I sensed down there. Its the same aura that used to surround Stevie Rae, but its going to have to wait until we get out of here, I said, feeling miserable and upset that my BFF felt like she had to lie to me.
I hate to be the one to clue you in, but Stevie Rae has more secrets than Paris Hilton has purses. On the bright side, Im betting your lying bumpkin friend, the freaks, and your boyfriends make it past the bird boys.
I hope so. I sighed and messed with my napkin.
Hey, she said softly. Try not to let this thing with Stevie Rae freak you out. Shes keeping secrets, but I can also tell you that she cares about youa lot. I also know shes choosing good, no matter how hard it is for her sometimes.
I know that. I believe Stevie Rae must have a reason for not telling me things. I mean, its not like Ive never kept secrets from my friends before. Yeah, I added silently to myself. And you messed up big-time because of that, too.
Okay, so its not just Stevie Rae thats making you look like you need some pharmaceutical help to cheer up. Then her brows raised as she continued to study me. Oh, I get it. Youre having boyfriend issues. Or should I say boyfriends issues?
Sadly, the plural seems to be the correct form of the word, I muttered.
Erik and I used to have a thing, but you know thats way over. You can talk to me if you need to.
I looked at her and again thought how ironic it was that she was right. I really could talk to her.
Im not sure I want to be with Erik, I blurted.
Her eyes got just a little wider, but her voice stayed nonchalant. Hes pressuring you about sex?
I shrugged. Yes, no. Kinda. But its not just that. I leaned forward and lowered my voice. Aphrodite, did he ever get possessive and über-jealous with you?
She curled her lip in a sarcastic sneer. He tried. I dont so much tolerate the jealous bullshit. Then she paused and in a more serious tone added, Neither should you, Z.
I know, and Im not. I sighed. I have a lot to deal with when this mess is over.
Seriously. You have a mess to deal with when this mess is over. She gobbled another forkful of spaghetti.
Well, lets try and get this particular mess over with then so I can go back to my ridiculous personal drama. Tell Darius to be ready for some bad stuff to go down tonight. Like he said, Kalona isnt going to be happy when we get out of here.
No, he said Kalona isnt going to be happy when you get out of here. He really has a thing for you.
I know, and I wish hed just get over it, I said.
Hey, have you thought any more about that first poem Kramisha gave you before we left the tunnels? It sounded like it was a formula for getting rid of Kalona.
Well, if its a formula, I havent figured it out. I didnt want to admit to Aphrodite that I hadnt thought at all about Kramishas poemor at least not the one about Kalona. Id been completely distracted by the second poem, and by the possibility of Starks humanity being returned to him. And that realization made my stomach clench. What if Stark was diverting me on purpose? What if he was putting on an act when the two of us were alone so that I would be too involved with him to figure out the other poem or anything elselike a way to get out of the House of Night?
Okay, clearly, your issues are weighing on you. And I think we can sum up your problems in one word, Aphrodite said.
I met her eyes and we said the one word together. Boys.
She snorted, and I gave a kinda hysterical little giggle. Lets just hope someday all of this goes away and your biggest problem is boy drama. She hesitated and then added, I hope youre not still thinking about Stark.
I shrugged and took a massive bite of spaghetti.
Look, I did some asking around, and the boy is wrong. Period, the end. Just forget about him.
I swallowed, chewed some more, and swallowed again. Aphrodite was still studying me.
The poem might not have even been about him, she said.
I know, I said.
Do you? And, look, you need to focus on getting us the hell out of here, and getting rid of Kalonaor at least chasing him away from here. Figure that out now. Worry about Stark and Erik and Heath and even Stevie Rae later.
Yes, I know, I said. Ill think about them all later.
Yeah, right. I still remember how you were the night Stark died. He got to you. But you have to remember the Stark thats strutting around here, acting like hes all that, and basically using girls and throwing them aside after he fucks with their minds even more than their bodies, is not the guy who died in your arms.
What if he is that guy, but he just needs to Change like Stevie Rae did?
Well, I can promise you Im not giving up another piece of my humanity to save his ass. Shit, Zoey, Eriks a better bet than Stark! Are you hearing me?
Im hearing you. I drew a deep breath. Okay, Im going to forget all guys right now and focus on getting us gone, and then getting Kalona gone, too.
Good. You can deal with boy issues later.
Okay, I said.
And you can deal with BFF issues later.
Okay, I said.
Okay, she said.
We went back to eating. Id meant what Id said. I was going to deal with all my personal issues. Later. Really. Or at least thats what I told myself
CHAPTER 27
I was thinking that drama class wouldnt be a big deal. One of the pod professors would probably substitute for Erik, who had taken over temporarily for Professor Nolan after shed been killed. I sat in the desk behind Becca, feeling weirdly déjà vu-ish, and half expecting to see Eriks pissed-off face calling me up in front of the class to try to seduce or humiliate me.
Oh! My! God! He was not with me! Even though I sooooo wish he had been!
Beccas annoying exclamation marks snagged my attention from being disgruntled at Erik. She was talking in little gaspy starts and stops to the girl across the row from her who I recognized as a fifth-former named Cassie. I kinda knew her because shed placed twenty-fifth in the National Shakespeare Monologue Contest Erik had won, and all the drama kids tended to hang out with each other. Today, though, she wasnt acting like a Shakespearean heroine. She was acting like a pain-in-the-butt giggly girl.
Well, he wasnt with me, either. But I can tell you, since he bit me Ive been dying to do a little biting and sucking of my own on him, Cassie said, and then dissolved into giggles. Again.
Who are you guys talking about? I asked, even though I was pretty sure I already knew.
Stark, of course. Hes only the hottest guy at the House of Night. Well, if you dont count Kalona, Becca said.
CFFboth of them, Cassie said.
CFF? I asked.
Completely freaking fine, Becca said.
I realized afterwards that I should have kept my mouth shut. I mean, I was attempting to converse with what amounted to brainwashed pod people, but I couldnt stay out of it, and yes, I knew that some of my pissed-off-ness came from a totally inappropriate feeling of jealousy.
Uh, excuse me, Becca, I said, heavy on the sarcasm. But didnt Darius and I recently save your butt from getting raped and bit by oooh! the hottest guy at the House of Night? Then you were snotting and whimpering.
Shocked at my outburst, Becca opened, shut, and opened her mouth again, reminding me of a fish.
Youre just jealous. Cassie didnt look or sound shocked; she looked like a hateful bitch. Eriks gone. Loren Blakes dead. So now you dont have the two hottest guys at school on your little leash.
I felt my face flush. Had Neferet told everyone about Loren and me? I didnt know what to say, but Becca didnt give me a chance to speak anyway.
Yeah, just because youre all high and mighty with the elements doesnt mean you can have any guy you want. Becca was giving me the same hateful glare shed given Damien and the Twins when theyd tried to talk sense into her last night. The rest of us can actually have a chance once in a while, too.
I clamped down on my urge to shriek at her and tried reason instead. Becca, youre not thinking clearly. Last night, when Darius and I broke it up between you and Stark, he was forcing you to let him suck your blood, and he was also on the verge of raping you. I hated saying it. I especially hated knowing it was true.
I dont remember it that way, Becca said. I remember liking the sucking, and I would have liked the rest of what goes along with Stark sucking a girls blood. You busted up something good that was none of your business.
You remember it like that because Stark messed with your mind.
Becca and Cassie laughed, causing lots of heads to turn in our direction.
The next thing youre going to say is that Kalona is messing with our minds, too, and thats why we think hes so damn hot, Cassie said.
Are you actually saying you two cant tell that things have been different around here since Kalona broke out of the ground?
Yeah. So? Hes consort to Nyxs Incarnate. His presence is bound to make things different, Cassie said.
And of course he came out of the ground. Earth is one of Nyxs elements. Like you dont know that? Becca said, rolling her eyes at Cassie.
Id just opened my mouth to try to explain to them that hed escaped the earth, not been born through it, when the door to the classroom opened and Kalona strode in.
There was a cumulative sigh from every female except me. And, to be completely honest, Id wanted to sigh and had to clamp my jaws together to stop myself. He was just so utterly gorgeous. Today he was wearing black slacks and a short-sleeved, button-up shirt that was untucked, unbuttoned, and hanging open enough that whenever he moved I could see the flawless bronze of his chest and his yummy six-pack. Someone had slit the back of the shirt, because his magnificent black wings protruded through and then tucked neatly against his broad back. His long dark hair was loose on his shoulders, making him look, despite his modern clothes, like an ancient god.
I wanted to ask Becca or Cassie how old he looked to them, because to me he again seemed only eighteen or nineteen, in the prime of his youth and strength, and not too ancient and mysterious to be out of my reach.
No! Listen to yourself! The next thing you know youll be sounding as empty-headed as Becca and Cassie and the rest of them. Think! Hes your enemy. Dont forget that. Forcing myself to look beyond his physical beauty and the hypnotic allure he radiated, I realized hed been talking while Id been yelling at myself.
That said, I thought I would help direct this class, since it seems you are so very hard on your instructors.
The classs appreciative laughter was warm and welcoming.
I raised my hand. His amber eyes widened in surprise, and then he smiled and said, How delightful that my first question comes from the most special of all the fledglings. Yes, Zoey, what answer may I give you?
With you taking over Drama I was just wondering if that meant you expect Erik Night to be gone for quite some time? Okay, I hadnt wanted to ask him a question, but my instincts had made me raise my hand, just as my instincts were telling me what to say. I knew taunting him with the fact that Erik had escaped was dangerous, but I was doing so in a way that I hoped wouldnt give him a reason for outright anger. I just wasnt sure why I was being prompted to bait an already volatile immortal.
Kalona didnt look fazed at all by my question. I believe Erik Night may return to the House of Night sooner than some may think. But, sadly, Ive heard he might not be in any shape to resume his duties as a professor, or as anything else for quite some time. His smile got warmer and more intimate, and I could feel Becca and Cassie and the rest of the girls in the room shooting daggered looks of envy at me. I realized with a terrible sense of fear and disbelief that the girls hadnt really heard anything Kalona had said. They couldnt grasp that he had just threatened Erik and said that he was coming back, probably just short of being hauled here in a body bag. All theyd heard was the sound of his beautiful voice. All they knew was that hed singled me out for his attention.
Now, sweet Zoey, or as I like to think of you, A-ya, I give you the honor of choosing what piece of work we shall study first. Be wary! The entire class must abide by your choice. And know that I shall play the lead in whatever you choose. He strode over to my side of the room. I was in the desk that sat second to the front, directly behind Becca, and I swear I could see her tremble at his nearness. Perhaps I will give you a part to play in our little drama.
I stared at him, my heart hammering so violently in my chest that I was sure he must hear it. His being so close was hard on me. It reminded me of my dreams, where hed come to me and held me in his arms. I could feel the tendrils of cold that snaked from his bodywrapping around memaking me yearn for the blanket of those ebony wings
Hes going to hurt Erik! I clung to that thought and felt the delicious chill slither from me. No matter what was going on between Erik and me, I wasnt about to be cool with anything happening to him.
I know the perfect play for us to do. I was proud that my voice was calm and strong.
His smile was pure, sensual joy. Im intrigued! What is your choice?
Medea, I said without hesitation. Ancient Greek tragedy set in a time when gods still walked the earth. Its about what happens when a man has too much hubris.
Ah, yes, hubris. When a man exhibits godlike arrogance. His voice was still deep and seductive, but I could see the anger that had begun to burn in his eyes. I think you will find that hubris only applies when youre dealing with mortals, and not the gods themselves.
So you dont want to do the play? I said with exaggerated innocence.
On the contrary! I believe the play will be amusing. Perhaps I shall let you dramatize Medea herself. He broke eye contact with me and refocused his charisma on the class. Study this play tonight. We will begin acting it tomorrow. Rest well, my children. I look forward to seeing each of you again. He turned and, as abruptly as hed entered the room, he left.
There was complete silence for what seemed like a long time. Finally, to no one and everyone I said, Well, I guess Ill try to find some copies of Medea. I got up and went to the back of the room. But not even the sound of opening and closing cabinets and pawing through files of old plays and mounds of scripts could cover the whispers that rained around me.
Why should she get noticed by him?
Its not fair!
If this is Nyx being mysterious, then Im damn sick of it.
Yeah, its crap. If youre not Zoey Redbird, then youre not shit to Nyx.
Nyx gives her anyone she wants. The Goddess doesnt leave anything for the rest of us.
On and on they muttered, sounding more and more pissed off. The guys were even chiming in. Apparently I made a handy scapegoat for what had to be a massive amount of anger and jealousy they must already have had for Kalona, but werent allowed to take out on him because he was messing with their minds.
What was more than obvious was that Kalona was methodically tearing down the fledglings love for Nyx, and he was using me to help him. They couldnt see the love and honor and strength of their Goddess anymore because Kalonas physical presence was blocking their view, like the sun shadows the brilliance of the moon during a lunar eclipse.
I found the box of Medea scripts and carried it over to Beccas desk and plopped it down. As she glared up at me, I said, Here. Hand these out. Then, without another word, I left the room.
When I got outside I stepped off the sidewalk into the shadow of the school and leaned against the ice-slick side of the stone-and-brick mixture that made up the House of Night buildings and the wall that surrounded campus. I was shaking. With one appearance Kalona had turned an entire class against me. It hadnt mattered that I had obviously not been drooling over him like everyone else. It hadnt even mattered that Id pissed him off. All that those kids had processed was his hypnotic beauty and that hed singled me out for special attention, above and beyond any of them.
And they hated me for it.
But it was so much more than them hating me. The most frightening, most unbelievable part of it was that they had begun to hate Nyx.
I have to get him out of here. I spoke the words out loud, making them an oath. No matter what, Kalona will leave this House of Night.
I walked slowly toward the stables, and not just because Id left my last class early so I had time to kill before sixth hour and Equestrian Studies began. I walked slowly because I was going to slip and fall on my butt if I wasnt extremely careful. My luck Id break something and have to deal with a cast or two along with everything else.
Someone had put a sand and salt mixture on the sidewalk, but it had little effect on a storm that just kept coming. Wave after wave of freezing rain fell, making the world look like a giant cake with crystal icing. It was still beautiful, but in an eerie, dreamlike way. As I slipped and slid and struggled the few yards I had to cross from the drama classroom to the stables, I realized there was no way the six of us were going to be able to walk out of here, not to mention the mile or so wed have to go to get to the Benedictine Abbey on the corner of Lewis and Twenty-first.
I wanted to sit down in the middle of the cold, wet, slippery mess and burst into tears. How was I going to get us out of here? I needed the Hummer, but I couldnt cloak it. That left only escape on foot, which wasnt fast enough under normal circumstances. During an ice storm that coated the streets and sidewalks of midtown Tulsa with ice and darkness, it was not just slow but impossible.
I was almost at the entrance to the stables when I heard the mocking crooak from the branches of the huge old oak that stood sentry outside the building. My first reaction was to slip and slide quickly to the door and get inside. I actually started to hurry, and then my anger caught up with me. I stopped, drew a deep breath to center myself, and ignored the the bird things terrible human eyes staring at me and causing the little hairs on the back of my neck to lift.
Fire, I need you, I whispered, sending my thoughts south, to the direction ruled by that elements flames. Almost instantly I felt heat brush against my skin and there was a waiting, listening quality to the air around me. I turned and looked up into the ice-crusted branches of the proud old oak.
Instead of a Raven Mocker, a terrible, spectral image of Neferet clung to the center of the tree where the massive first branches began to spread. She radiated darkness and evil. There was no breeze, but her long hair was lifting around her, as if the strands had a life of their own. Her eyes glowed a nasty scarlet, more rust than red. Her body was semi-transparent; her skin shimmered with an unearthly light.
I focused on the one thing that allowed my terror to thaw enough for me to speakif her body looked transparent, then she really wasnt there.
Dont you have more important things to do than spy on me? I was glad my voice didnt shake. I even raised my chin and glared at her.
You and I have unfinished business. Her mouth didnt move, but I heard her voice echo eerily around us.
I mimicked one of Aphrodites haughty sneers. Okay, so maybe you dont have anything better to do than spy on me. I, on the other hand, am way too busy to be bothered by you.
Once again you need a lesson in respecting your elders. As I watched, she began to smile, and her wide, beautiful mouth stretched and stretched and stretched until, with a horrible gagging sound, spiders exploded from that gaping maw and her image broke apart into hundreds and hundreds of seething, multilegged creatures.
I sucked air for a huge scream, and had already started scurrying backwards, when I heard a rustling of wings and a Raven Mocker landed in the crotch of the tree. I blinked, expecting him to be overrun with spiders, but they shimmered and then seemed to soak into the night and disappear. There was only the tree, the Raven Mocker, and my lingering fear.
Zzzzzoey, the creature hissed my name. Obviously this was one of the bottom-feeding Mockers whose ability to speak wasnt nearly as refined as Rephaims. You ssssmell like ssssummer. It opened its dark beak and I saw the forked tongue that flicked out hungrily, like it was tasting my scent.
Okay. Enough was enough. Neferet had scared the bejeezus out of me. And now thisthisbird boy was going to try to bully me, too? Oh. Hell. No.
Alright, I am sick and tired of you freaks and the way you and your daddy and nasty Neferet think you can take over everything.
Father ssssays, find Zzzzzoey, and I find Zzzzzoey. Father ssssays, watch Zzzzzoey. I watch Zzzzzoey.
No. No. No! If I wanted a pain-in-the-butt dad to follow me around and check up on me, Id call the Step-loser. So to you, your daddy, the rest of your bird-boy brothers, and even to Neferet, I say: Get. Off. My. Back! I lifted my hands and flung fire at him. He screeched and took off, flapping wildly and flying erratically out of the tree and away from me as fast as he could go, leaving behind the scent of singed feathers and silence.
You know, its not smart to antagonize them, a voice said. Theyre normally annoying. Once you ruffle their feathers theyre really hard to get along with.
I turned back to the stable building to see Stark standing in the open door.
CHAPTER 28
See, thats one of the differences between you and me. You want to get along with them. I dont. So I dont care if I piss them off. I told Stark. I channeled what was left of my fear and turned it into anger. And you know what? Right now I really dont want to hear anything more about it. Still sounding pissed, I added, Did you see that?
That? You mean the Raven Mocker?
I mean the disgusting spiders.
He looked surprised. There were spiders in the tree? For real?
I blew out a long, frustrated breath. Lately Im not sure I can tell you whats for real and whats made up around here.
I did see you being pretty pissed off and tossing fire around like a beach ball.
I saw his eyes travel down to my hands and realized that not only were they shaking, but they were still glowing with the aura of flame. I drew a deep, calming breath and willed the shaking to stop. Then, in a much calmer voice, I said, Thank you, fire. You may depart now. Oh, wait. First, could you get rid of some of that ice for me? I pointed my flame-shining hands at the section of sidewalk between where I stood and the stable, and like a lovely miniature flamethrower, fire jubilantly spouted from my fingertips, and gaily licked against the thick coating of ice, causing it to turn to cold, wet mush. But at least the mush wasnt slippery. Thank you, fire! I called as the flames died from my fingers and sped away to the south.
I trudged through the water and ice muck and tromped past Stark, who was staring at me. What? I said. I was tired of almost falling and breaking my butt.
Youre really something, you know. He grinned his cocky, cute Bad Boy smile, and before I could blink, he pulled me into his arms and kissed me. It wasnt a groping, intrusive kiss filled with possessiveness like Id been experiencing with Erik. Starks kiss was more of a sweet question mark, which I answered with a definite exclamation point.
Sure, I should have been pissed. I should have pushed him away and told him off instead of kissing him back (enthusiastically). Id like to be able to say that my semi-ho-ish reaction to him was because Id had so much stress and fear in my life lately that I needed to escape, and his arms were the easiest escape available, which would imply I wasnt actually totally responsible for the fact that I was sucking face with Stark right there in the doorway to the stables.
The truth is less flattering, and yet is still the truth. I didnt kiss him because of stress, or fear, or escape, or because of anything except the fact that I wanted to kiss him. I like him. Really, really like him. I didnt know what I was going to do about him. I didnt know where he would fit in my lifeor even how he would fit in my life, especially if I was ashamed to admit my feelings for him in public. I could only imagine the freak-out it would cause among my friends. Not to mention the zillion pissed-off pod girls who would